Document Detail


Effects of practice and signal energy on duration discrimination of brief auditory intervals.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  8036124     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
In Experiment 1, the proposition that duration discrimination of filled auditory intervals is based on temporal information rather than on energy-dependent cues was tested in 64 naive subjects. The subjects were presented with two auditory stimuli at different levels of intensity within one trial, and had to decide which of the two was longer in duration. An adaptive psychophysical procedure was used. As a measure of performance, difference threshold estimates in relation to a 50-msec standard interval were computed. Duration discrimination showed no effect of energy values, indicating that the subjects' discrimination was independent of stimulus intensity. The goal of Experiments 2A and 2B was to investigate the effects of practice on duration discrimination which, in addition, may provide an indirect test for the potential use of energy-dependent cues. Effects of practice on duration discrimination of filled (Experiment 2A) and empty (Experiment 2B) intervals were studied in 6 subjects in each case, over 20 testing sessions. An adaptive psychophysical procedure that was similar to the one used in Experiment 1 was applied. Neither short-term effects of practice based on the first five testing sessions, nor long-term effects of practice based on the means of 4 consecutive weeks, could be demonstrated. The results of the present study suggest that duration discrimination of brief auditory intervals is based on temporal information and not on stimulus energy. Furthermore, implications for the notion of a very basic biological timing mechanism underlying temporal processing of brief auditory intervals in the range of milliseconds are discussed.
Authors:
T H Rammsayer
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Perception & psychophysics     Volume:  55     ISSN:  0031-5117     ISO Abbreviation:  Percept Psychophys     Publication Date:  1994 Apr 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1994-08-18     Completed Date:  1994-08-18     Revised Date:  2004-11-17    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0200445     Medline TA:  Percept Psychophys     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  454-64     Citation Subset:  C    
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Giessen, Germany.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Acoustic Stimulation*
Adult
Auditory Perception*
Discrimination Learning*
Female
Humans
Male
Task Performance and Analysis
Time Factors

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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